The Chinese Know Renewable Energy is a good thing. Most of the rest of the World is still a slave to Oil, Coal and Nuclear Power. All the Governments of the World now know it is wise to use Renewable Energy it is the Local Governments that are a little slow to learn what is best for all not just there pocket book.

They fear people going off the grid all that tax money they will no longer be able to take from you. Wind and Solar Farms are growing all over the Earth. This could have happen years ago if the greedy wicked were stopped by the Real Good.
The Freedom to get your own Power from the Wind and Sun, Solar Energy has been there for years. Are Libraries and Schools should have been the first to have gone Solar and Renewable Energy.

Thank GOD for the Pioneers like John Schaeffer that Started Real Goods The first and Best catalog for Renewable Energy and Scientist Bill Young at the FSEC Florida Solar Energy Center and Monica D. Key Lindbergh for many years wrote to our legislators promoting Solar and Renewable Energy and many others. These Pioneers helped put Wind, Solar And Renewable Energy in the Spotlight for all the World to see.
The Great Scientist Albert Einstein Stared it with a Dream that the day would come that all the World would use Solar Energy. His discovery of the law of the Photoelectric Effect won him the Nobel Prize in Physics. We still do not teach this to our young.

GOD Bless all that help tell this to the World
The Lord’s Little Helper
Paul Felix Schott

Like or Dislike: 32

Tom Burnett

If The Lord made us as His Toys and Baubles. maybe he should have put a pinch more knowledge in the Tree of Knowledge – or given Adam and Eve a bigger bite.

Like or Dislike: 10

Dennis Gergen

It seems to me that many many Americans are far more fearful and almost paranoid about our future. Being in this state of mind it is almost criminal to say and do things to prey on this type of person. People had best be very sure that what they try to tell others in the world about what is happening or what to do in a crisis is true. Great harm comes from worrying people by statements which may at large be more politically motivated than concern for one’s fellow mans welfare.

Like or Dislike: 22

Tom Burnett

It seems to me that merely BEING in the state of mind of fear and paranoia is the problem – not stepping out of it and actually dealing with problems. The Americans you speak of are cowards and dumbasses after being catered to by Dr. Seuss and coddling – or non-existent – parents. And being afraid of the boogyman and being taught that guns are evil but that people are just misunderstood and need a hug.

If you know a problem is possible you can think about what to do about it if it DOES happen. If you sit on your dumb ass and listen to the CEO of AIG say they are ‘fine’ until they tank – or the President say the economy is recovering until it tanks – or a nuclear plant manager say there is no danger until the plant melts down, who is the criminal?

Me, for suggesting you think for yourself? The people who lied to you, became millionaires and retired? Or you for being a dumbass and watching Dancing with the Stars instead of pulling your head out of the dark tunnel? If you believe the official word that nothing ever goes wrong; that New Orleans is all repaired, no problem – the Gulf of Mexico is all cleaned up, no worries – that nuclear plants cannot melt down in this country no matter what – and that you can buy your way out of prison through the ballot box… maybe you ought to man up a little and not snivel about my opinions because they pull people out of their comfort zones.

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 121

fabian

I agree to a certain extend but you do have to consider that it is not by accident that most Americans are naive or left in the dark not knowing that ugly reality of things. Therefore since I may be a bit more aware of the reality of things I say we can try and do a positive act by spreading awareness, without judgment or negative remarks because although it is true what you are stating it doe’s not help. Simply because your word’s are not in the most positive terms. Just an observation!

Like or Dislike: 11

Tom Burnett

So if I sugar coat it, it will be easier to swallow. Yep, that’s true.

Like or Dislike: 10

Sven Bruin

I take great pleasure in reading the critical responses to any news report that might warn of an impending disaster. I suggest all people simply put a big X and make it very large – right over any comment that is critical or has a superiority flavor.
The fact is, George Bush warned us the New World Order was going to be here. What does that mean to most Americans? It means to me that our way of life will drastically change in either a very fast way or gradually. Notice how the country used to be religious and not there are not any people willing to declare their love for Christ or God? Notice how people are convinced to disregard anyone if they do not have the appearance of a plastic model? We have been conditioned to respond as the big leaders wish us to. Take heed – we are in danger.
There is no radiation that is safe. There is no reason to have muclear plants. There are solar panels and there are many other ways to get fuel. Read all about Tesla – check it on You Tube. We are simply going to be killed to bring the New World Order leaders desires to fruition. The NWO wants to reduce the population. Here it comes.

Only if we let them. Wake up Stand up Protest Fight back cancel your taxes Invoice the Government for services rendered like collecting taxes.

Like or Dislike: 11

DAVE

If you have kids and a car, get the hell out of dodge !!!!!!!

Hot debate. What do you think? 96

katdat

I have been comparing the information provided by mainstrem news agencies and the reports on alternatives such as the Intelhub since the Japan
nuclear event began. Specifically, the Intelhub was not only more accurate, but the information was provided on average at least 3-7 days before reports on mainstream news agencies. Mainstream agencies repeatedly downplayed/ignored the true situation until multiple outside sources started reporting the situation and they could no longer continue these tactics at the same level. Anyone who believes the information provided by our government and/or mainstream news agencies is in denial. Wake up people!! How many times do these senarios have to be played out before people stop being led like lambs to the slaughter?

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 355

Thomas

The nuclear industry (G.E.) owns a great deal of stock in the mainstream media and has control of what they say……..What we should be up in arms over is the government cover up that will result in countless suffering and death particularly of our children. While we could not have prevented exposure we could be minimizing it with some proper guidelines and monitoring.

We could be told when the highest fall out is occurring and our food and water could be monitored to help us reduce internal exposure.

The cover up is criminal and when this is all said and done we should put them on trial and banish them to clean up Fukishima or other nuclear sites as a deterrent for future politicians that would lie to us and in so doing harm or even kill our children.

I’m backpedaling this one. I presumed (and still do) that any radiation release would be from puddles of accumulated tritium and radioactive water that is under every commercial nuclear plant in the world. Not in quantities like Fukushima, but certainly detectable and potentially harmful. Then the water KEPT rising and the issue became one of polluting the underground used fuel storage pools with whatever is in the river – and that would be very dangerous because it could, in fact, cause a major problem. Even if they filled the pools with boron, enough river water washing through would flush it out.

That’s the problem. So far it apparently hasn’t happened. There isn’t much danger of the reactor going south unless they lose all power to it and they have run additional overhead lines to try and prevent that. It’s still possible – the whole thing could go to hell in a handbasket. But comparing it to Fukushima is wrong. It’s nothing like that.

It didn’t melt down. I don’t think there is any danger of that happening.

Like or Dislike: 12

David Abbot

Thanks for your great and honest work. Someone has to do something to counter the morons like Ann Coulter, who says that nuclear radiation is nutritious and tastes good on breakfast cereal.

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 2610

Tom Burnett

We all know, me especially, that I’m right on the edge with this piece because I jumped on “Level 4” – and within about 60 seconds that had magically disappeared and now it never happened. OK maybe it did or maybe it didn’t and we won’t know for a bit longer – and if I have to eat my hat, thank God it’s a Stetson.

But I gotta tell you – ‘hot particles’ (and I really don’t like Arnie’s description – you CAN read them – a couple of ways) – don’t taste good. You can see for yourself by taking a shiny new penny which has been disinfected, boiled, sterilized and autoclaved and putting it on your tongue for half an hour.

I can’ find Giesbrech’s post but he quotes me here:
“Feel free to believe TEPCO, the NRC, the government, the OPPD and anyone else you trust to tell you the truth.”

And replies:

“I hate to say it, but that includes you too. You’re right that the Fort Calhoun plant was cited last year for insufficient flood defenses. However, the Omaha World Herald quotes the NRC as saying that they had recently signed off on improved flood defenses, and the plant is in no danger.”

Well….
It includes me this far: I try to write between the lines and say what the ‘officials’ WON’T say. I don’t claim to be perfect and I don’t claim insider knowledge or that I have a divine window to the truth. But EVERYTHING anyone says nowadays is just simply a damn lie and I try to cut through that. My intent is not to convince you I’m right – it is to convince you that believing everything an ‘official’ tells you ISN’T RIGHT EITHER. You look. If a nuclear plant is underwater and the dumbasses tell you ” oh…ah -no problem – this is a PWR reactor – like they use in submarines. Water won’t bother us.” You don’t HAVE to think about it. You KNOW they are BSing you.

All I want people to do is think for themselves. Don’t believe or disbelieve – YOU THINK FOR YOURSELF!

I am now going thru the Fukushima Nuke plants problem near the area, and all I can say from our recent experience is…

1. The local area don’t get the latest news and updates somehow.
2. Contamination level always get reported lower locally due to the evacuation and insurance problems.
3. Always check overseas’ report what they are saying about.
4. Once the cooling system is down and don’t see the recovery of the power, pls be careful of that water (flooded) and rain. I’ve heard that American power system is set underground to endure from hurricanes, but it would be very very difficult to make 100% water-proof box to any electrical system sadly.

If you have a Geiger Counter machine, please check the area and near obstacles. but please use the machine with wrapping by a plastic cover to avoid getting any contamination to the machine itself.
Hope the situation won’t get worse…

Cool. It sounds like some of you are realizing the press is rigged. The same who own FED own ap, upi, REUTERS, and all of the msm. They are all Rothschild minions, fronts playing on his dime. When they die, the money goes back to the clan. Like jp morgans money did. Our congress and pres. courts and the military brass are bought and paid for and are loyal to the secret societies. They’ve been duped by the Rothschilds. The lure of money betrayed them all. Our congress is so obviously crooks yet you re-elect them. The press has a spell on you. They laugh at your stupidity.

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 376

Daniel S

They’ve been lied to for so many generations that when you tell the sheop the truth they think you are howling at the moon insane.

I read that and I’m not walking it back. PWR reactors are not designed to operate underwater and a lot of the reactor infrastructure is below the river level anyway to make pumping cooling water through the heat exchangers easy.

The NRC investigation of last summer showed that the plant was not sufficiently protected from flooding. So using simply Bayesian logic, we can know that there is now or will be radiation release from that plant.

Feel free to believe TEPCO, the NRC, the government, the OPPD and anyone else you trust to tell you the truth.

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 194

Curtis

It was submitted without comment.

Here’s something new to piss everyone off posted as a diary on Kos… An aggregation of amateur radiation reading showing radiaion up the wazoo in large areas of central and northern Japan.

How often do you believe the lies of the MSM before you wake up? Alternate news has been proven right and mainstream proven wrong over and over yet some people still insist if it wasn’t on FOX it didn’t happen. Shame really, because believing the lies is what has gotten Americans into 3 illegal wars against unoffending nations and that’s just for starters. I won’t go into bank fraud or Monsanto or ‘foreign aid’ or market maipulation or, or, or….

I wonder why the containment building was filled with water. The people that run this place thought this was a good idea? It sounds kind of like the Fukushima folks throwing a fail mary pass to try and stop a meltdown, which had already happened, but they refused to disclose for three months..

I wonder what kind of secrets will be exposed three months down the road around all of this? When stories change rapidly, the secrets are most often there..

My bet is that there is a cover up going on here already, due to the NRC rating it 4, then 1, then dropping the entire incident completely, combined with ‘discouraging’ any pictures from the river, air or anywhere else.

Yea, right, nothing to see here, move on… just ignore the fact that this plant was built smack dab in the middle of a flood plain. Ignore the smoke/fire, flood, evacuation, poor planning, public held accountable for any accidents, etc…

Sir, I found your website while following the news about the flooding. I’m a Nebraskan and aware with the Fort Calhoun plant. However, when I did some research, I found no record of a “level 4 emergency.” There is a level 1 alert, issued on 6/6, regarding the flooding. In response, the Omaha Public Power District built levees around the plant, which remains dry. There was also a level 2 alert, issued on 6/7, when an electrical fire caused a cooling pump to fail. According to the report, the fire was extinguished shortly thereafter and the pump was restored to working order. No contaminated water left the facility.

Furthermore, the plant isn’t even running right now. It was shut down in April for refueling, and when the flooding started, OPPD decided to leave it idle until August.

Yes, I think these reports are accurate. Nebraska is not a populous state. Everyone here knows someone, and there have been no rumors of nuclear contamination. If something disastrous happened, OPPD could never keep a lid on it. Next time, please do some research first. If you are a scientist, then you should know how important it is to get your facts straight.

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 4125

Pura Uva

Dear Sir, one thing we have to keep in mind is that main stream media does not cover or attempts to investigate such info.,Can you imagine the panic it would cause the big cities where population is millions and millions! U.S govt. has lid on media so i suggest having unbias resources to getting news. your local media or national mass media is controled i gurantee it. Im not speaking on opinion… this is a fact. Recent CNN poll on the Presidential debate few days ago Ron Paul won the debate and cnn reported 0%! but on their website it show 78% and on TV they choose a poll from another source. I can tell you mass media is scam and they lie to us all the time. sir i am east coast and i found that info. from non bias source is always more reliable than national or local media, i say this because history tells us alot our govt always lies and hides info. years later we find out it was true! all govt. will do is say “sorry”

i’ll give example on media control in Feb.2011 George W. Bush had plans to travel to Switzerland, he cancel the plans due to possible arrest warrant! can you tell me why media in U.s did not cover it? The charges are against crimes against humanity. International Business Times report http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/109750/20110207/bush-europe.htm

It would be embarrasing for ex-us official to be on National news in USA.

your information may be accurate, however it does not discard the fact that NATIONAL NEWS MEDIA IS NOT COVERING IT! CNN,FOX,CNBC,MSNBC anybody thats masss media. You are in fact contributing and confirming that there is an EMERGENCY! and its NUCLEAR, so why not put all over the news?

News could create panic, but we are not scientist we only base our decisions on what TV tells Us. If you ask me i be scared if it was level 1! Remember to build a nuclear plant it was sold as… oh, dont worry its SAFE…and look at whats happening now!

Any alert any level Anything Nuclear cant be good! the King Obama is no scientist and he will tell the people what is pass down for him to read.

i only pray for the town and i would advice you get the hell out there, just to be safe 🙂 god bless

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 264

Samy

I wish you are right, but I am not in a mindset to believe due to too many cover ups. People are pushed to that stage by our own people…they CAN’T believe anything now.

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 72

Kris

There are rumors going on in Nebraska, I am from Nebraska living in Colorado and my Nebraska friends are the one’s who sent me the original story, first about how the FAA about put a no fly zone over Fort Calhoun then the video above.

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 101

Tom Burnett

He Kris – what ARE the rumors? The news has blacked out the whole mess.

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 50

hello yello

I’m a Nebraskan also, how do you not see the level 4 emergency, its all over the local news

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 71

Allie

Dear Omahan,
They are using sand bags to build levees at a Nuclear plant. Sand bags for God sakes…think about that for a minute…
You’ll know they are lying when their lips are moving.

Like or Dislike: 30

Richard

What is the situation?
Whatever it is, not good.
I tend to believe it is as reported, to serious.

To many have all the answers, per reading
the comments, with no first hand knowledge.
Unfortunately, the news media has very
low credit ability to believe; per not reporting
details correctly, and or mud slinging.
Government agencies attempt to cover up too,
to avoid public reaction and or getting a bad rap.

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 111

Tom Burnett

Negatory, Bandit. There is a little dry-cask storage, but the majority is open fuel pools.

Tom, I’m not going to call you a liar, afteralli don’t know you. But, without any real sources it appears that the data has been misinterpreted. The NRC issued a Level 1 abnormality on 6 June. They then issued a level 2 alert after a fire on 7 June. The fire was suppressed by halon extinguishers, but the alert is a precautionary event.

As to the FAA notice to airmen, it is centered on the plant because theplant sits on the river. Also, it doesn’t close the airspace around the plant completely, only to 3500 feet. Less than a mile into the air, and common altitude for helicopters engaged in flood relief operations.

Poorly-rated. Like or Dislike: 510

Tom Burnett

Nah, call me a liar. It’s OK. However, I tell you now that the data have not been misinterpreted. The data have been changed. The level 4 nuclear emergency ‘disappeared’.

It will resurface.

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 264

dd

the only place that has anything on this is either a non u.s. website or you tube.
It is all out there. We may all be alright tomorrow but when we all develop some sort of cancer in a few years people will be going huh? Just like now when you say huh?
keep it up Tom. No one else is, Well Alex Jones is. Cnn, fox, abc ect. finger in your ears news. only nice things like war are mentioned and wieners of coarse.

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 422

concerned

Tom, I’m not far from the plant. Can you post your link for the declaration of the Level 4 emergency last night? I want to make sure my family avoids Blair (which is where the Ft. Calhoun plant is actually located)

The OPPD has returned the plant to a level 1 incident. This is going to turn out to be another ‘don’t tell them and they won’t know’ event. I’d stay away from the river until it crests and goes back to normal levels.

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 101

Kevin

Well I don’t know about this. At 2:14 PM EST CNN reported on the Missouri river at Omaha, NB. The developing story about high water was the possible flooding of the stadium for the upcoming college world series. No mention at all about the reactor. I am no fan of nuclear power. But seemingly someone, either local media or government, would be publicly worried about a possible dangerous situation. Any concern would be picked up by a CNN. Update: at 2:29 PM CNN Reported on the Missouri flooding from South Dakota to Iowa. No mention of the reactor.

Don’t assume CNN is going to report the situation honestly. You obviously have not yet realized that the main stream media are all controlled and will only report to the public what they want the public to know. You need to research alternative news sites for the truth as CNN, MSNBC and Fox news are all a part of Operation Mockingbird (look it up).

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 142

jyggy

another absolute outrage, that almost nobody knows about

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 244

Sara James

Why is the news media ignoring this story?
No one is carrying this news feed.

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 252

Tom Burnett

Yeah….when I wrote in March that Fukushima was a level 7 incident all sorts of dumbasses crawled out of the woodwork and called it BS. Fort Calhoun is not at a ‘level 4 alert’. It had been classified as a ‘LEVEL 4 NUCLEAR EMERGENCY”. (but that information has ‘disappeared’ – fancy that! Just like Fukushima!) Do you suggest contacting the same NRC that won’t even measure for potential fallout from Fukushima? THAT NRC? That’s a great idea. Yes, the FAA no-fly zone IS a result of the Missouri river flooding. But that it has been established over a nuclear plant and not a trailer park indicates that it was established because a NUCLEAR PLANT is flooding AND IS IN A LEVEL 4 NUCLEAR EMERGENCY.

How can you be the only person in the country to find out about a nuclear emergency?

Poorly-rated. Like or Dislike: 614

Tom Burnett

Because I’m the only one who in’t in the basement eating Cheetos and playing video games.

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 173

smokey

Tom isn’t the only one. Arnie Gundersen is saying the same thing, too. If you doubt either of these guys look at their track record of Fukushima. Both were ahead of the misinformation curve. The nuclear industry is trying to protect itself because they used crappy cost-cutting measures and bribed politicians to basically deregulate themselves. Nuclear energy is the cheapest power there is out there, but that wasn’t enough. No they had to make it even MORE profitable by lowering safety standards and now the crumbling containers are spreading poison and death all over the world. What will happen if a solar storm knocks out the power grid and emergency generators fail in the other thousands of plants around the world. It’s an unthinkable scenario, right? But so were tsunamis, earthquakes, and flooding rivers apparently.

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 172

Phillis

You’re onto something, Smokey. Tsunamis, earthquakes, and flooding rivers…..and fault lines. Ever seen a map of the nuclear reactor locations? It defies the law of probability (and common sense) that more than 80% of them were built in precarious locations like the ones you mentioned, and almost 100% of them are located where quakes are now occuring. Now, why would reactors, along with a nuclear storage facility, be built on the New Madrid fault, I wonder? Hmmm….

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 142

Notborn Yesterday

Phyllis, if your numbers are true, then it is a final piece of evidence that suggests far MORE than Sokey did. It suggests that we are targeted for annihilation at some designated time, which could be very soon.

According to the Georgia Guidestones, the powers-that-be want to retain Earth’s population by some… 5% was it? … of current level. According to statements by people like David Rockefeller, they want to reduce it to that. Everything comes together: Codex Alimentarius to cut off our access to natural vitamins and supplements that we can no longer get from mass factory produced food replete with dangerous additives, Monsanto and co working to monopolise and own all food and animal genes and now, Fukushima with its mox fuel, and the potential to fail reactors around the globe. What better way to annihilate 95% of the human race while the PTB plan to ride it out in their underground cities, then come out and replant the dead surface with the NON-GM seed they have saved in bunkers around the globe?

And of course, just in case we wake up a little too soon from pretend democracy, the UN is working at disarming populations right around the globe.

Mr Burnett you are the sharpest silver bullet slinging werewolf I have ever encountered.

Muchas gracias compadre.

Like or Dislike: 31

jackro

I could have done without the “smack down” to working people that are attempting to learn, however, I gave a thumbs up, because you were correct last time, so I am giving the benefit of the doubt. The plane rerouting could be from the flood, since an emergency would require landing, and I think the airport around there is also under a potential problem, but I could be wrong on that one, since this is just a guess.(I hope it is a correct one, since I am due east by about 1400 miles)

Looked into it. Thorium reactors have not been commercially successful and the thorium fuel cycle has all the same problems as the uranium one: actinides, long-lived radioactive waste, etc.

Thorium reactor = more of the same

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 105

Tom Burnett

Not exactly. Thorium successfully powered the first commercial US reactor and powers the new CANDU designs in India and China. The reason the US went to Uranium reactors is the military-industrial complex wanted plutonium for weapons. You can research it – the information is freely available.

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 151

Tom Burnett

Yeah….I heard that before – which is why I got married. Don’t YOU fall for it.

Tom,
The Ft Calhoun rating is a level 4 alert, not accident level 4. There are concerns that the spent fuel cooling could be lost. Right now, everything is under control. The reactor has been shut down for months.

Alert 4 is the lowest level of concern.

I’m no apologist for the NRC or the industry. additional problems could develop at Ft Calhoun, but right now, there is no accident.

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 156

Tom Burnett

Aloha Scott.

So you are suggesting that they have alert levels one through 7? What would be the difference? Nuclear incidents are rated on a logarithmic scale. So a level 2 alert would mean you have to be ten times as alert as a level !? Nah. Let me tell you what is REALLY going on. On June 6, the PLANT declared a level 1 nuclear emergency. By yesterday they had upgraded it to a level 4 nuclear emergency. The NRC says there has been no leakage – but the definition of a level 4 nuclear emergency specifies leakage. So someone is lying. Me or the NRC would you guess?

The International Nuclear Event Scale utilizes a 7 level classification system. The US NRC uses a 4 level emergency reporting system. The 4 levels of the NRC emergency reporting system are (from lowest to highest) Unusual Event, Alert, Site Area Emergency, and General Emergency.

I have seen and heard NRC folks use the term “level 4” to indicate “Unusual Event.”

To add to the confusion, the International Nuclear Event Scale level 7 would be highest. (me and a few others are about to urge the International Atomic Energy Agency to create a “level 8” since Fukushima is already above a level 7 for many reasons to be detailed later.

The NRC reporting scale, although it does not use numbers 1-4, has been commonly disussed by assgining the lowest level with 4, while highest level is 1.

There are numerous problems with both scales or levels. The confusion has been caused by the nuclear industry which still has not defined a clear definition of meltown 32 years after Three Mile Island. Furthermore there are 12 different scales to measure radiation…whew!!!

The Internation Nuclear Event Scale, while claiming to be a logarithmic scale, does not adhere to that strictly. The Fukushima was designated a level 7 at the same time that it had been assessed by the IAEA as having release 1/10th the amount of radiation as Chernobyl.

bottom line at Ft Calhoun: confusion brought about by a lack of communications by the industry and the goverment, has allowed rumors of an accident to persist.

The no fly zone is a security issue, not a coverup.

Like or Dislike: 23

Tom Burnett

What kind of security issue? Would terrorists parachute in and take over an empty reactor? Why? Would they fly in and crash into the river – after all the fuel pools are already WAAAAY underwater – and again, why?

Tom your questions contain errors. The reactor is not empty. The spent fuel pools are not already way under water.

A nuclear plant which may not have all of its safety assets available, is more vulnerable to terrorists. I can not spell it out in detail because that would be bad for security.

Like or Dislike: 13

Tom Burnett

OK, I concede that the reactor might not be completely de-fueled – although they knew the river was rising.

The spent fuel pool is absolutely underwater. Maybe not the Missouri river yet, but it is underwater – except for the dry cask storage – and it contains about four times the amount of spent – and maybe fresh – fuel typically stored in pools in Japan,

I doubt terrorism is a concern at this point – unless bin Ladin is a fast swimmer.

OPPD spokesman Jeff Hanson told Business Insider that the nuclear plant is in a “stable situation.” He said the Missouri River is currently at 1005.6″ above sea level, and that no radioactive fuel had yet been released or was expected to be released in the future.

Asked about the FAA flight ban, Hanson it was due to high power lines and “security reasons that we can’t reveal.” He said the flight ban remains in effect.

Like or Dislike: 11

Tom Burnett

“88 hours.

It said 88 hours, not 88 minutes.”

@Cascadian Patriot. Yep. I typod that – I thought I corrected it. Thanks for catching it.

The worry at Ft. Calhoun is the dam will break and wash the whole thing away…the spent fuel pool in underground there, and they can’t get to it. So if it DOES wash away no one will probably know until the chickens downstream are born with rabbit ears…ok, that’s a joke – but the problem is real. The plant was not designed to be stronger than the Missouri river – and the dame and waterways protecting it are some of the most dangerous in the country.

So we are back to March. People will keep telling me how wrong I am until they find out I’m not.

Tom, I’m afraid your misguided and wrong. I do contract instrument and calibration work in power plants nuclear and otherwise. A level four notification is what’s known as a NUE or notification of unusual event. It was declared because I’d imagine there is something unusual about the river level being that high. The plant is shut down, which means the fuel is under a significant amount of water, 30-40 feet or so. Nuclear energy is created when an unstable atom is made more unstable with the addition of one or several neutrons which cause it to split and the binding energy is turned into heat. I’m sure you know this, but you do a poor job of conveying this in your article. The point that I’m trying to make is that in an absence of a neutron flux, there is no release of binding energy. There is decay heat, however, by comparison, it is relatively small. Now, I’m sure you’ve boiled water for pasta, it takes a while with a direct heat source and a small amount of water. It takes several days for this amount of water to even start to boil and even longer for enough of it to boil and leave fuel exposed. Also, not to knock your ability to report your way out of a paper bag, which, really, you can’t, I’ve never been to a power plant, and I’ve been to Fort Calhoun, that has an underground spent fuel pool. If you consider the design, which is a 50-60 foot swimming pool essentially, you’d realize that you’d run into numerous issues in its construction if it were underground. Lastly, we can talk about Fukishima, which is like comparing apples to oranges as far as plant design goes (pwr to bwr), or the fact that mark I reactors in the united states were retrofitted with hydrogen relief valves to prevent the containment explosions suffered by the Fukishima reactors, but it would make no sense except to promote the same brand of fear mongering used by your conservative counter parts at Fox News. A flood does not sneak up on someone, with few exceptions (like a tsunami); you know it’s coming. If you look at natural disasters in this country alone, Hurricane Katrina and numerous earthquakes along the San Andreas fault, you’ll realize that nuclear power plants have fair better than entire cities (See Hurricane Katrina and Waterford Nuclear Generating Facility). I’m not asking you to change your opinion on nuclear power, we’ll just have to agree to disagree. But for the sake of honest bloggers and reporters, don’t masquerade this as fact unless you do actual research.

Poorly-rated. Like or Dislike: 913

Tom Burnett

I am a proponent of nuclear power. Here…maybe you could explain this article. And after that, in your expertise, maybe you could tell me just how much used nuclear fuel is sitting in pools at Ft. Calhoun which is the designated storage facility for spent nuclear fuel in Nebraska. Want to look it up, or shall I do that research for you as well?

Finally…I am not a reporter. I state opinions. So far they have always been correct – after dumbasses like you finish dissing them, they are still proven correct. If I make a mistake, after the evidence is in, I’ll say so.

The Fort Calhoun Nuclear Generating Station is a nuclear power plant located on 660 acres (270 ha) between Fort Calhoun, Nebraska
, and Blair, Nebraska adjacent to the Missouri River . This plant has one Combustion Engineering pressurized water reactor
generating 500 megawatts of electricity. In 2003, the plant had its operating license renewed for an additional twenty years, expiring in 2033.

The report states,
“During identification and evaluation of flood barriers, unsealed through wall penetrations in the outside wall of the intake, auxiliary and chemistry and radiation protection buildings were identified that are below the licensing basis flood elevation. A summary of the root causes included: a weak procedure revision process; insufficient oversight of work activities associated with external flood matters; ineffective identification, evaluation and resolution of performance deficiencies related to external flooding; and “safe as is” mindsets relative to external flooding events.”

As a result of a Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) inspection conducted from January 1 to June 21, 2010, the NRC determined that Fort Calhoun Station (FCS) did not have adequate procedures to protect the intake structure and auxiliary building against external flooding events. Specifically, contrary to Technical Specification 5.8.1.a, the station failed to maintain procedures for combating a significant flood as recommended by Regulatory Guide 1.33, Appendix A, section 6.w, “Acts of Nature.”

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 156

Bill Watkins

Tom, if you check the Army Corp of Engineering website for the greater Omaha area, you will realize the release is supposed to plateau out around 150,000 gallons/sec. Right now, the Gavin’s Point Dam is releasing 148,000 gal/sec. If the plant hasn’t flooded yet, I’d imagine it won’t.
The number of bundles in the pool would probably be several hundred as the core can hold up to 133 bundles. Once again, it’s spent fuel, although putting off small amounts of decay heat, it’s nothing like heat output of new fuel at all, in fact, many sites have taken to dry storage for spent fuel to conserve space (that’s spent fuel exposed to air…everyone panic!) Lastly if you look at the NRC site, it will explain the finding in question in regards to the flood control became official this winter. This forces the plant to enter a special investigation, also known as a 95002. The amount of money any plant will spend satisfying the requirements of a 95002 inspection and the amount of preparation that occurs to prove their ability to run is incredible. I worked Palo Verde Nuclear station when when they went through their investigation. The finding if anything forced the plant to prepare for this “act of god.”
Other plants in the United States have been forced into similar preparations after the events of Fukishima.
I also feel that your “opinion” is wrong, but once against, we’ll agree to disagree and I will look forward to the egg on your face when it is incorrect. Hope to hear from you in August.

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 73

Tom Burnett

Aloha Bill!

I faved your post. I am a reasonable and prudent person, and if I get egg on my mug, I’ll admit it to the world through you. 🙂